Research publications

Helda - University of Helsinki digital repository

Kela publishes peer reviewed research findings and other current publications from our staff researchers as well as our associates – universities and research institutes.

Kela conducts multi-disciplinary research: our publication series contain writings from, among others, the fields of health sciences, medical sciences, social pharmacy, economics, social sciences, social law and statistics. Kela may also publish manuscripts, whose material is register or other data produced in Kela or which deal with Kela operations.

Texts submitted to be published by Kela must be previously unpublished. Manuscripts approved for publishing may be published elsewhere only with permission from Kela and the author.

Recent publications in English

6.2.2018
Pekola P. The effects of competition and regulation on quality in physiotherapy.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect that competition and regulation have on quality in the physiotherapy of disabled individuals organised and financed by Kela. Within these services, patients have had a free choice of providers since in 2011. The research questions of this study all relate to the functioning of the market and the incentives of firms to compete for patients on quality both when prices were regulated and when they were market-determined.

24.5.2017
Aaltonen K. Affordability of medicines from the pharmaceutical system perspective. Comparative analysis of Finland and New Zealand.
This study looks at the affordability and availability of pharmaceutical reimbursements in Finland and New Zealand. Its focus is on specific features of the reimbursement systems that affect the availability of medicines. Both systems studied have their strengths and weaknesses in relation to the affordability and availability of reimbursements In the Finnish reimbursement system, the level of out-of-pocket payments is higher, but the range of available new pharmaceuticals is broader.

9.12.2016
Hussain MA, Kangas O. Is a handful of old tricks better than a sackful of new ones? Generations of research and post-retirement poverty in the European Union.
In welfare state research, it is customary to speak of generations of research: social expenditure; social rights; and the public-private mix in pension schemes. The aim of this working paper is to study to what extent the generations are linked to cross-national differences in old-age poverty measures as 40%, 50%, 60% and 70% of the national median income. The expenditure approach displays the strongest association with the outcome. The two other generations perform less well. All the approaches share the same problem: not only pensions but many other factors have impacts upon the economic situation of the retired population. Furthermore, the dependent variable, old age poverty is an elusive concept that opens need for a new generation of comparative welfare studies.

13.10.2016From idea to experiment. Report on universal basic income experiment in Finland.
“From Idea to Experiment” summarizes the central aspects presented in the preliminary report on the universal basic income experiment in Finland. This shortened version tends to make it possible for a non-Finnish speaking reader to get an idea of what our working group had in mind when sketching the initial experimental setting. Furthermore, it includes explanations why the experimental setting defined in the legislative bill deviates from the model sketched in the preliminary report.

11.3.2016
Martikainen P, Murphy M, Moustgaard H, Mikkonen J. Changes in the household structure of the Finnish elderly by age, sex and educational attainment in 1987–2035.
The study evaluates changes in the living arrangements of Finnish men and women aged 65 years and older in the period 1987 to 2011 and projects living arrangements to 2035 by age, sex and education. The results indicate that future elderly population will be better educated than ever before and is more likely to live with a spouse or partner. Future living arrangement distributions of older people are strongly determined, in particular, by past household behaviour and, to a lesser extent, future changes in mortality.